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Topic for #MSXbox : Webcast Begins: 9:15 AM PST at Xbox.com, Chat Begins: 9 AM PST
<J_Allard> while the first several million xbox's will likely find their way into the hands of the
hardcore
<J_Allard> gamers (that get up early for webchats), longterm, we're need to make xbox a household
name
<J_Allard> this is an early step.
<J_Allard> besides, we had a great opportunity with our "special guest" today and with bill
<J_Allard> hard to pass up
<J_Allard> of course there will be new info in upcoming shows
<sol_msxbox> Could we call E3 "Microsoft's E3"?
<J_Allard> microsoft's e3? i think that xbox is going to be really really big this may
<J_Allard> we'll be showing games running on the real hardware and you'll see a lot of our partners
<J_Allard> showing stuff off too.
<J_Allard> 2001 is going to be an awesome year for gaming though. i'm certain other companies
<J_Allard> will be showing some fun stuff too
<sol_msxbox> Keynote Announcement: Video is now live
<J_Allard> yeah, i'm hearing it in the background. a little distracting... talking about
<J_Allard> pc stuff i think.
<sol_msxbox> How long do I have to wait before I can begin asking you CES-specific questions
(about the revelations and all)?
<J_Allard> i promised to keep it zipped until bill takes the wraps off.
<J_Allard> he is the boss afterall. :)
<sol_msxbox> I think now's a good time to ask that math problem I was having trouble with earlier...
<sol_msxbox> 1. MGS + XBOX = MGS__ ?
<J_Allard> huh?
<J_Allard> MGS + XBOX = WOW!
<J_Allard> sorry to speak in code there... sol, you're a SNAKE
<sol_msxbox> Solid
<sol_msxbox> :)
<sol_msxbox> Will there be online games from the get-go?
<J_Allard> you know, we're huge fans of online...
<J_Allard> and totally committed. we put an ethernet port on every box for that reason.
<J_Allard> you're going to see a lot of innovation in this space (and experimentation)
<J_Allard> you'll see some developers use it like the old playstation link cable
<J_Allard> you'll see people put together little "lan parties" with inexpensive hubs
<J_Allard> and gaming in gaming parlors
<J_Allard> it will be really big in college dorms
<sol_msxbox> mmmm, lan parties :)
<J_Allard> and of course the ultimate is the full internet where all of those different groups
<J_Allard> can play together.
<J_Allard> the cool thing about the ethernet strategy is that you don't necessarily need to have
<J_Allard> it connected to the intenret to get a multiplayer networked experience. you can
<J_Allard> do it in these other environments
<J_Allard> too
<sol_msxbox> So, we're talking full-fledged clan battles in games like Halo
<J_Allard> you can smell what xbox is cookin
<sol_msxbox> nice teaser!
<sol_msxbox> Along those lines, what do you say about controlling games like First-person shooters
which normally require a key/mouse combo
<J_Allard> we can probably talk more about the controller in a few minutes...
<J_Allard> when we talked to gamers about what they want in a console, they said
<J_Allard> "awesome controller".
<J_Allard> we aksed about kb+m and they told us that they didn't really have much
<J_Allard> interest in having 4 keyboards on the couch to play with their friends.
<J_Allard> so we designed a rich controller and a good extensibility strategy
<sol_msxbox> Hey Guys, Allard has just got thrown out of his Chair by the Rock!
<Jeff-H_Xbox> Tell The Rock to whup him good! :-)
<sol_msxbox> He wants to talk with us about the Xbox and his special guest appearance before he
goes on Stage!
<sol_msxbox> Hey Rock, how's it going man!
<The_Rock> Doing great jabroni!
<sol_msxbox> It's really great to have you here. I'm almost afraid you're going to give me the people's
elbowq
<sol_msxbox> if I don't ask good questions :)
<Guest00141> What's up jabroni...ask The Rock some questions before I get out there!
<sol_msxbox> Are you much of a gamer?
<Guest00141> Yeah definately...
<Guest00141> Just bought the PS2..
<Guest00141> favorite of course is Madden 2001
<TheRock> just preordered Xbox directly from Bill....Gates that is!
<sol_msxbox> So you'd love to get your hands on a wrestling title for the console, starring you
ofcourse? <b>
<TheRock> Yeah..definately..because of the detail...the wrestling game that comes out on Xbox..
<TheRock> is gonna put you right there in the ring!..
<Guest43372> you're truly gonna smell what The Rock is cookin'!
<incabrain_Xbox> Okay does anyone realize The Rock is SITTING on me? I can barely type!
<Jeff-H_Xbox> I'm chatting from Redmond, WA, and I can see The Rock's biceps from here!
<sol_msxbox> Rock, mind if we arm wrestle?
<J_Xbox> yo rock... wassup my man?
<ItsTheRock> Mind if the Rock slaps the taste outta your mouth?
<J_Xbox> damn, i think it's time you get on stage..
<J_Xbox> i hear bill callin'
<sol_msxbox> oooohh, haven't ate breakfast yet!
<ItsTheRock> It's Mr. Gates to you jabroni!
<J_Xbox> i guess bill will justj have to wait.
<sol_msxbox> What's going on in the WWF?
<ItsTheRock> From a company standpoint...we're getting ready for one of the pay per views of the
company..
<ItsTheRock> entitled The Royal Rumble where The Rock will be laying the smackdown on all their
candyasses!
<sol_msxbox> I know you're gonna lay smack down for all of us
<sol_msxbox> and come out on top
<J_Xbox> wonder what's under the black cloth out there..
<ItsTheRock> how about The Rock lays a smackdown on you for repeating what The Rock just said.
<sol_msxbox> please don't :)
<sol_msxbox> When will we see the Rock on the Xbox?
<ItsTheRock> By the year's end you're gonna see the most electrifying console ever in the Xbox and
of course the most elctrifying game EVER..
<ItsTheRock> in what is titled Raw is War by THQ
<sol_msxbox> very sweet! another title for us to look forward too
<J_Xbox> it's cool to see the rock so pumped on the xbox... as powerful as the xbox is, it's going to
be
<J_Xbox> hard to really be THE ROCK. nothing compares
<sol_msxbox> Yeah, he's sitting right next to me, don't want him to get too pumped up though...
<J_Xbox> rock baby, you are looking slick today man. where you shop?
<ItsTheRock> Only the finest haberdasheries for The Rock
<ItsTheRock> gotta run! watch the show!!
<sol_msxbox> Thanks a million rock!
<J_Xbox> right on bro. thanks for coming by
<J_Xbox> give bill my best
<sol_msxbox> J will be back in a jiff, if you want to go out and get a drink, now's the time
<J_Allard> man, everyone is pumped abt the box
<J_Allard> the rock is so pumped. he's a hardcore gamer. he was telling
<sol_msxbox> We've still got alot of questions to go guys
<J_Allard> last night about his favorite colecovision games...
<sol_msxbox> Alright, J is back.
<sol_msxbox> Can you talk about the custom USB ports on the Xbox a bit?
<J_Allard> lot of people ask if they'll be able to use standard usb controllers on the box
<J_Allard> the answer is no. we'll have a great selection of controllers
<J_Allard> available, but they have to be designed for the system so that the experience
<J_Allard> is great and peopel don't have to screw around with controller mapping, etc..
<J_Allard> the best games really design around the controllers.
<J_Allard> we decided to use usb technically so that controller manufacturers could bring
<J_Allard> product to market quicker, but more importantly to have the flexibility and power
<J_Allard> of a high-speed digital interface. 12Mbit to the controller dude
<sol_msxbox> How much of the XBox technology is going to be shared with the rest of Microsoft
products? I would like to see some of the consumer features of the XBox make it back into
MS' OS product line.
<J_Allard> a lot of what's being shown in the keynote today is how the microsoft
<J_Allard> product family in the home all works together. we've learned a lot when
<J_Allard> building the xbox and definitely plan to share. of course we did our share
<J_Allard> of borrowing too. teams like directx and sidewinder really paved the way for us
<J_Allard> to get xbox started
<sol_msxbox> How have developers responded about DirectX?
<J_Allard> developers love directx. it means they don't have to screw around with learning
<J_Allard> yet another api to get their imaginations translated into reality through games
<J_Allard> the demos we're going to show today, never could have happened as quickly
<J_Allard> hey bill just said "video game"...
<J_Allard> crazy? bill who are you calling crazy? he just called me crazy
<sol_msxbox> Watching the webcast, we'll comment as Bill talks about it
<J_Allard> (we did spend a lot of time with developers)
<J_Allard> (the box itself)
<J_Allard> (here it comes...)
<sol_msxbox> sweet looking console, man!
<J_Allard> i feel like a proud daddy
<J_Allard> i'm weaping
<sol_msxbox> Is it a boy?
<Jeff-H_Xbox> <sniffle> ...it's beeaauuutiful.
<J_Allard> dude, it's a ROCK
<J_Allard> boom!
<J_Allard> i hope everyone is able to see the webcast now
<J_Allard> bill just unveiled the design of the console and the controller
<J_Allard> and is reinforcing that xbox is 100% about gaming
<J_Allard> and how important that it was for us to make it instant on, 4 player
<J_Allard> and the fact that we put two slots in the controller as well as built-in rumble
<J_Allard> it's nice to be able to finally talk about some of this stuff
<sol_msxbox> Yeah, real nice
<J_Allard> bill just announced that hdtv will be supported by xbox
<J_Allard> and is talking about the harddisk and broadband features
<J_Allard> now that i can talk about the controller:
<J_Allard> 2 analog sticks
<J_Allard> 2 analog triggers
<J_Allard> 6 analog buttons on surface
<sol_msxbox> What were those 2 little buttons the top?
<J_Allard> 8-way dpad
<J_Allard> 2 high-speed slots for extensibility
<sol_msxbox> Hmm 2 slots?
<J_Allard> 12 megabit bandwidth to the system
<sol_msxbox> I for a memory card, and the other?
<J_Allard> you can think about stuff like memory cards, voice peripherals
<J_Allard> because we're fully digital and we have the performance between the system and the
controller
<J_Allard> we can do full-speed two way voice
<J_Allard> seamus just hit the stage with bill and is running a developer reel
<J_Allard> btw: bill high-fived him
<sol_msxbox> (Tony Hawk 2)
<J_Allard> uh, did i forget to mention that there's going to be an exclusive version
<sol_msxbox> (In parenthesis are games being shown)
<J_Allard> of tony hawk for xbox. exclusive
<sol_msxbox> on the big scren
<sol_msxbox> Wow, big time!
<J_Allard> it will be the first version of thps for next-generation consoles. tony hawk pro skater 2x
<J_Allard> i can't reveal all the secrets in the game, but it's going to be hot. activision is
<sol_msxbox> (Oddworld)
<J_Allard> really pumped
<sol_msxbox> (Malice)
<sol_msxbox> <Raw is War)
<J_Allard> yup. malice is confirmed and you're about to see some of the coolest lighting
<J_Allard> and shadowing you've ever seen
<J_Allard> did we mention that we're going to have an exclusive wrestling title?
<J_Allard> RAW IS WAR
<sol_msxbox> Yes, Rock was kind enough to mention that
<J_Allard> not only is the rock pumped, but the whole xbox team is pumped. thq is doing really
excited
<sol_msxbox> you've answered alot of peoples' wishes with that one
<J_Allard> stuff and is going to take the wrestling category to the next level
<Jeff-H_Xbox> Earlier in the chat, I talked about changing the rules for what you can expect from
console gaming. Malice is a great example of that!
<sol_msxbox> including mine
<J_Allard> we're now talking about oddworld
<J_Allard> oddworld has been an amazing success over the last couple of year
<J_Allard> now they are bringing it to xbox. and you're about to see on the webcast
<J_Allard> a real build of a real game on a real xbox devkit
<J_Allard> abe in full 3d
<J_Allard> some pretty impressive shadowing and detail in the scene, with all of the
<J_Allard> signature gameplay.
<J_Allard> "followme"
<J_Allard> "hello"
<J_Allard> "followme"
<J_Allard> "okay"
<sol_msxbox> And this is only running on about 1/5th the hardware
<J_Allard> that's right
<sol_msxbox> D-A-M-N
<J_Allard> seamus has much squeeling around in a wheelchair now...
<J_Allard> the world is really really rich and fully interactive.
<J_Allard> if you just glance at it, it looks like a cutscene from the last generation game
<J_Allard> seamus is about to show bill malice now
<Jeff-H_Xbox> Actually, it looks better than cutscenes on any platform I've played before Xbox.
<J_Allard> a real build, on a real devkit, another real xbox game
<J_Allard> for those of you on the webcast, you need to watch the lighting and shadows
<J_Allard> look at the detail in the hammer. that's not texture trickery, but real
<J_Allard> geometry.
<J_Allard> another fully interactive world.
<J_Allard> argonaut has done an amazing job to really bring the character and environment alive
<J_Allard> everything in the world is bump-mapped, loads of geometry, amazing lighting
<sol_msxbox> That Malice game is the most amazing in-game graphics I've ever seen
<sol_msxbox> <---- mouth open
<J_Allard> you'll notice the shadows cast against all of the geometry accurately, even the character
<J_Allard> herself
<J_Allard> malice is sort of a twister fairy tale where you play a girl that grows up
<J_Allard> while you're playing and well, can turn into a cat. it's going to be one of the
<J_Allard> coolest platform games ever
<J_Allard> now, seamus is doing the giant robot skit. basically a giant robot trying to mimick
<J_Allard> alice. kind of a spoof on the raven/robot demo, but a little more fun
<J_Allard> (seamus is not very good at this game)
<J_Allard> the crowd reacted pretty strong to that. lots of whistles
<Jeff-H_Xbox> But Seamus not being real good at it shows that its REAL. A Real Game, in
Realtime.
<sol_msxbox> Totally amazing.
<J_Allard> now seamus is into'ing the rock.
<J_Allard> the rock is in the house!
<J_Allard> badass
<J_Allard> more whistles
<J_Allard> the rock and bill don't have a lot in common?
<J_Allard> nah
<J_Allard> lots in common
<J_Allard> top of the industries
<J_Allard> best selling authors
<J_Allard> known worldwide for their vast catchphrases
<J_Allard> know your role
<J_Allard> layeth the smacketh down
<J_Allard> you can smell what the rock is cookin
<sol_msxbox> Bill Gates's catch phrases: Writing hardcore C to create slick tight code
<J_Allard> fascinating
<J_Allard> (if you're not following, i'm playing rock and sol's playing bill)
<sol_msxbox> Gates Big fan of the Rock
<J_Allard> rock is now giving a brief history of windows
<J_Allard> "bill gates, you never cease to amaze me"
<J_Allard> what the rock is to the wwf, the xbox is to the console industry
<J_Allard> "it doesn't matter what you think"
<sol_msxbox> What if the rock was running at 1/5th of his power?
<sol_msxbox> He'd still kick ass
<J_Allard> bill just wrapped up
<sol_msxbox> That was great, I hope everyone got a chance to catch that.
<J_Allard> ces is now officially started
<sol_msxbox> Lets just do some follow up questions with J before we open up the chat
<sol_msxbox> then he's gotta jet
<sol_msxbox> So the list of games revealed was...?
<J_Allard> Malice by Argonaut. a twisted fairy tale platformer that's going to blow minds
<J_Allard> Oddworld as you know which is going to bring Abe, Munch and their Odd World to full 3d
in a way you've never seen
<J_Allard> Tony Hawk 2x, which is going to be an exclusive version designed for Xbox taking the art
of skating
<J_Allard> to the next level
<J_Allard> last but not least... RAW IS WAR... an exclusive wrestling title from THQ taking the Rock
and the
<J_Allard> rest of the WWF to Xbox
<J_Allard> ...and this is just the beginning
<sol_msxbox> What was the inspiration behind the design?
<J_Allard> what we tried to do in our design was to capture the power of the system and
<J_Allard> the mystery of it's potential
<J_Allard> a key inspiration was high-end audio systems.
<J_Allard> we want the xbox games to be the center of the user's experience, not the system
<J_Allard> the system really amplifies the creativity and visions of the game designers
<J_Allard> not unlike an audio amplifier. and, it's high-end.
<sol_msxbox> very true.
<sol_msxbox> What about the controller, it takes alot from previous designs?
<J_Allard> with the controller we tried to learn from the best of previous designs
<J_Allard> couple with great asthetics, and most importantly have the right features and the
<J_Allard> right design. we designed it around comfort and having awesome functionality for the
<J_Allard> game designers to work with
<J_Allard> when we show it to people, we sayu
<J_Allard> "put out your hands like you're playing a game"
<J_Allard> then we just drop it in
<J_Allard> people think it feels supernatural
<J_Allard> you know, designed for marathons
<sol_msxbox> We're going to allow 5 readers join in randomly
<DopeyFish> *heart just stopped*
<sol_msxbox> so If you've received "voice" +v, then chat away
<J_Allard> having been an avid gamer for 20 years, and having owned every console
<J_Allard> i think it's going to be awesome. (i've also gottent to play a bunch of titles with it. it's
good)
<DopeyFish> J, well, hrm hello how are you
<Nitros_MSXbox> there, all done
<Travis> Xbox looks great!
<J_Allard> hey dopeyfish. whatcha playing these days
<DopeyFish> hmmmmm my snes lol can't stop playing such a classic system
<sol_msxbox> Dopey, go ahead with your question
<DopeyFish> ok here goes
<J_Allard> how can anyone be down on some of the classic snes games? i still play robotron
<J_Allard> everyweek personally
<DopeyFish> J, a long while ago, you had a vision about a gaming machine, with simplified
programming requirements, massive audio capabilities, as well as enough graphical horse
power to blow everyone away... what i am wondering, is if the final product (xbox) lives up to
your vision?
<sol_msxbox> that was the last question guys, thanks for Joining, and thanks to the MSXbox Team!
<J_Allard> i believe it will. but, you'll only know once you see the real games
<J_Allard> it has all of the potential we had hoped for. now it's in the hands of the game designers
<DopeyFish> glad to hear ;)
<J_Allard> and as you see with wwf, thps, oddworld and malice coming to the platform, we have the
best and most creative minds
<J_Allard> out there on the box. it's up to them to really realize the vision
<J_Allard> hey, the rock just put the smackdown on me
<J_Allard> i guess it's a tv interview or something
<miopia> One quick question.. Any word if we're going to hear anything from Square regarding the
XBOX @ CES?
<J_Allard> i'm not going to argue with the man. especially after all of the great things
<DopeyFish> hehe
<J_Allard> he's said about xbox. besides, i promised him a pair of these slick xbox shoes, so i need
<J_Allard> to live to deliver on the promise
<Iceman_Msxbox> Thanks for coming J. Allard :)
<DopeyFish> it's been great reading this interview :) nice to have you!
<J_Allard> thanks guys. catch you on the net. next time.